INSPIRATION W
hen Tracie Stafford was chosen Mrs. California in 2007, the entrepreneur and first African-American to wear the crown seemed to have everything going for her. But Tracie had also overcome tremendous adversity in her life. Raised in a violent household, as an adult she endured a fiveyear relationship in which she regularly received brutal beatings.
Tracie left her abuser and went on to find personal and professional success. But she says she didn’t truly begin to heal from her experience until one of the Partnership’s campaigns gave her the chance to tell her story for the first time.
“The Partnership changed my life. They’ve given me a platform to make a difference for others as well as myself.” TRACIE STAFFORD
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At a public hearing before the California State Legislature, Tracie revealed the abuse she had suffered and urged legislators to help break the cycle of violence. That one speech inspired many more: Tracie now works fulltime as a public speaker and advocate in the movement to end domestic violence, and is writing a book on women and self-esteem. “The Partnership changed my life,” says Tracie. “They’ve given me a platform to make a difference for others as well as myself.”